Distraught families are desperately searching for their children who are still missing after a deadly fire at a Swiss ski resort nightclub.
Authorities have confirmed that teenagers were among 47 dead and 115 injured after a massive fire broke out at a packed tourist bar in Crans-Montana. Wallis,
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People laid flowers and lit candles for the victims of the fire at “Le Constellation” bar Credit: APyoung people mourn their friends Credit: ReutersA fireman lights a candle Credit: AP
It is believed that more than 200 young people celebrating the New Year had gathered at Le Constellation, a luxury bar at the popular ski resort, when the “flashover” fire broke out.
Hundreds of people escaped by climbing narrow stairs, while others broke windows along with furniture to escape and suffered severe burns in the process.
The fire scorched the venue.
Terrified people were “screaming and running” for their lives on New Year’s Eve. The fire scorched the venue, burning alive many people trapped inside.
The survivors, aged as young as 15, have been airlifted to hospitals in Switzerland and abroad, including in France, Germany and Belgium.
Wallace Hospital activated its disaster plan, admitting 60 injured, many of whom had third-degree burns.
A helpline has been set up for the victims and their families to manage the flow of information.
The mother of 16-year-old Giovanni Tamburri, from Bologna, is one of many parents who are appealing for information about her son’s well-being.
“We are calling all the hospitals, but no one knows anything, especially when the patients are in terrible condition,” he told La Repubblica.
Amid the chaos of the horrific tragedy, friends and relatives have taken to social media to get answers about what happened to their loved ones.
One Facebook post read: “My 15-year-old sister is missing. We have not heard from her since the bar fire in Crans-Montana.”
Another wrote about a loved one: “If you saw him after 1.30am or know where he has been taken, please contact me. Three of his friends are also missing.”
A European official said experts were using dental and DNA records to identify the deceased, but identification was being delayed due to the severity of the burns.
Eight French citizens and six Italians are missing and foreign governments are reportedly calling around to find out if their citizens are among the dead.
The first injured teenager to be identified is FC Metz youth footballer Tahiris dos Santos.
According to the football club, the 19-year-old player sustained “severe burns” and is currently receiving treatment in Germany.
It came as around 400 people came together to offer condolences to the victims of the massive fire on Thursday evening.
A church service was held in Crans-Montana to honour the victims, and later on a snowy night hundreds of people gathered quietly near the site of the tragedy to lay flowers and light candles.
Many of those who stood motionless watching the scene of the tragedy knew people who were unaccounted for or badly injured.
People spoke in whispers, if at all. The only sound was the hum of the generator near the makeshift white tent set up outside the bar.
Center of Crans-Montana in the Swiss Alps Credit: Alamy
“I wasn’t there myself, but I had many friends and relatives,” said a young mourner, who gave his surname as Orostevik.
“Some died; others are in hospital. He informed AFP that the number of deceased individuals was approximately 10.
“They’re mostly my parents’ friends, but I know them very well.”
Orostevik said he had bought flowers to give “as a small tribute.”.
Nearby, some groups of friends were hugging and crying, distraught.
The father placed a guiding hand around the young sons. The youth hugged their friends as soon as they saw them. People cried, hugged and held hands.
“My son could have been there. It wasn’t far away,” Paulo Martins, a French citizen who has lived in the area for 24 years, told AFP.
“He was with his girlfriend; they had to go in. And in the end, they couldn’t get there,” he said.
A woman was crying outside a bar during Thursday night’s vigil Credit: ReutersBereaved people console each other outside the site of the deadly fire Credit: Reuters
“When he came home, he was really in shock.”
A friend of his 17-year-old son has been transferred to Germany for treatment, suffering burns on 30 per cent of his body.
Mourners paid tribute at a table temporarily set up at the street entrance leading to the bar, which was blocked from view by a white screen.
Two police officers were guarding the circle.
Some girls stood for a long time holding bouquets of flowers and gathered courage to move towards the table through the crowd.
“There are dead and injured, and someone close to us is still missing. We have no news about them,” said one woman, speaking on condition of anonymity.
After offering flowers, they walked away hand in hand.
Images of the inside of the bar moments before the fire, with foam soundproofing on fire Credit: BFM/TwitterThe moment flames appeared on the roof of Le Constellation bar in Switzerland Credit: X
“They were young people, and people we know,” said another woman, who declined to give her name.
Asked if she knew what happened to them, she said, “Something, no. Something we’re still waiting for.”
The emergency units of Valais hospitals were immediately filled, and many of the injured were evacuated to Switzerland and neighbouring countries.
More than 30 victims were taken to hospitals with specialised burn units in Zurich and Lausanne, and six were taken to Keystone-ATS in Geneva, Switzerland. news The agency told.
The European Union said it was in contact with Swiss authorities to provide medical assistance, while French President Emmanuel Macron said some of the injured were already being cared for in French hospitals.
Swiss authorities said they were trying to identify the victims but warned that the process could take “several days, even weeks”.
A French football club says one of its youth players is among the injured being treated in hospital Credit: FC MetzPictures taken inside the bar show how tables and chairs were thrown across the room and panicked people fledCredit: Unsplash
When Jay Cutler shares a shoulder-focused dumbbell front raise tip, it’s a masterclass in building championship-level shoulders. The four-time Mr Olympia recently highlighted this precise isolation exercise as a non-negotiable for developing powerful, defined anterior delts. In this guide, we break down his exact form, programming advice, and the key mistakes to avoid so you can apply this pro secret to your training.
Why the Anterior Delt Deserves Your Focus
While many lifters correctly prioritise overhead presses, the front delta often becomes weak or lacks separation from the chest. This is where the shoulder-focused dumbbell front raise shines. As Cutler explains, this isolation exercise is indispensable for:
Direct Anterior Delt Growth: It places constant tension precisely on the front shoulder head.
Enhancing Muscle Detail: It creates clear separation between the pectorals and deltoids.
Improving Mind-Muscle Connection: The controlled, single-joint movement teaches you to initiate and feel the contraction in the delt, not in your back or traps.
Jay Cutler’s Step-by-Step Guide to the Perfect Front Raise
Executing this move with champion form is where most people go wrong. Follow Cutler’s cues for maximum effectiveness and safety.
The Stance: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, core braced, and a slight softness in your knees. Hold a dumbbell in each hand in front of your thighs using a neutral grip (palms facing your body).
The Initiation: Keep a slight, fixed bend in your elbows. Exhale and deliberately raise the weights forward and upward, leading with your knuckles or the front of the dumbbell. Imagine you are pouring water from the front of the dumbbell.
The Top Position: Raise the dumbbells until your arms are parallel to the floor or just slightly below shoulder height. Do not swing them higher. Squeeze your front delts hard for a full second at the peak of the movement.
The Return: Inhale and slowly lower the weights back to the starting position with the same strict control, fighting gravity on the descent. This negative portion is crucial for muscle growth.
Common Mistakes to Avoid (According to Cutler)
Using Momentum: Swinging the body or using your legs to lift the weight defeats the purpose of the exercise. The shoulders must do the work.
Lifting Too High: Raising past shoulder height engages the traps and can impinge the shoulder joint. Control the range.
Going Too Heavy: “This is a shaping movement, not a power movement,” Cutler advises. A moderate weight for perfect reps is far more effective.
How to Program This Move Into Your Shoulder Workout
Jay Cutler typically places the shoulder-focused dumbbell front raise after his primary compound lifts. This ensures he’s fresh for heavy presses and can then brutally isolate the front delts.
Dumbbell Lateral Raises: 4 sets x 10-15 reps (Hit the medial delts)
Dumbbell Front Raise (Shoulder-Focused): 3-4 sets x 12-15 reps (isolate the front head).
Rear Delt Machine Flyes: 4 sets x 15-20 reps (Balance the rear delts)
Pro Tips & Variations from the Champ
Alternating Arms: Try raising one arm at a time to ensure each side works independently without cheating.
Supinated Grip: Occasionally, use a palms-up grip to slightly change the angle and stimulation.
The Mind-Muscle Link: “Don’t just move the weight. “Visualise your front delt contracting and shortening with every single rep,” Cutler emphasises.
Conclusion: Build Your Blueprint
The shoulder-focused dumbbell front raise, as championed by Jay Cutler, is more than just an accessory lift. It’s a strategic tool for crafting balanced, detailed, and powerful shoulders. By prioritising flawless form, controlled reps, and intelligent programming, you can apply this bodybuilding icon’s knowledge to develop a set of delts that stand out.
Incorporate this move into your next shoulder day, focus on the squeeze, and watch your front delts transform.
FAQ Section (For Featured Snippet Optimization)
Q: What muscles does the shoulder-focused dumbbell front raise work? A: It primarily targets the anterior deltoid (front shoulder head), with secondary involvement from the clavicular head of the pectoralis major and the serratus anterior.
Q: How heavy should I go on dumbbell front raises? A: As Jay Cutler advises, use a weight that allows you to complete 12-15 strict, controlled reps without swinging. Form is paramount.
Q: Can I do dumbbell front raises sitting down? A: Yes, performing them seated on a bench (with or without back support) can help eliminate body momentum, making the exercise even more shoulder-focused.
Q: How often should I train the front raises? A: Once per week as part of a balanced shoulder workout is sufficient for most lifters, allowing for proper recovery and growth.
Lucy Campbell, with her long grey dreadlocks, stands animated in front of the thick stone walls of the Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town city centre, South Africa, her small frame accentuated by their towering height.
The 65-year-old activist-turned-historian has a message for the 10 American students who have come to hear her version of the city’s history. Dressed in a black hoodie and blue jeans, Campbell is well-spoken but shows her disdain for Cape Town’s colonial past, often erupting in harsh language for those she blames for its consequences.
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“This castle speaks to the first economic explosion in Cape Town,” she says at the beginning of her five-stop tour of the city. She describes the location as an architectural crime scene.
Campbell refuses to enter the 17th-century castle, which she sees as a symbol of the violence and dispossession that the colonial era brought to South Africa’s second-biggest city.
“That is where they used to hang people,” she says, pointing to one of the castle’s five bastions. It was built by the settlers of the Dutch East India Company, commonly known by its Dutch acronym, VOC. The VOC built the fortress as part of its efforts to establish a refreshment post between the Netherlands and other trade destinations in the East. The castle is now run by the South African military.
Campbell, an accredited tour guide, has been giving privately run tours like this for 17 years, starting at the castle and offering a scathing critique of the city’s monuments and museums for dozens of people each year.
She says most official tributes, such as the Slave Memorial erected in 2008 in Church Square, fail to do justice to the enslaved people who contributed to the construction of Cape Town and often neglect to acknowledge the Indigenous population that lived here for hundreds of years before the Dutch arrived in 1652, displacing them and introducing slavery to the Cape.
Campbell can still see clear echoes in the city of the “genocide” and dispossession of the Khoi people, the Indigenous herders who lived on this land for thousands of years. She remembers her mother’s stories about how this history personally affected her family, who are descendants of the famously wealthy Hessequa, a subset of the Khoi. The Hessequa lost their land and livestock to the Dutch.
Known as “the people of the trees”, the Hessequa lived for centuries in the farming area now known as Swellendam, about 220 km (137 miles) east of Cape Town. The arrival of European settlers transformed them from land and cattle owners to peasant workers employed by white people, conditions that in many places persist to this day.
Land ownership in Cape Town and South Africa as a whole remains overwhelmingly in the hands of the white minority. Rights groups have also accused white farmers of sometimes abusing predominantly mixed-race agricultural workers and evicting them on a whim, a practice that has carried on since the colonial era.
“Many of them have worked there for generations, and they are just being evicted,” Campbell says. “There’s no pension. There’s nothing. So the ailments of the past [continue].”
Visitors enter Cape Town’s Castle of Good Hope, one of South Africa’s oldest surviving colonial buildings [Esa Alexander/Reuters]
The coloniality of the museum
With a resume that includes posts ranging from trade union administrator and mechanic’s assistant to historian, Campbell started her tours after working at the Groot Constantia estate of the VOC colonial governor Simon van der Stel, now a museum. This is where she got her first taste for history.
When Campbell started working on the estate as an information officer in 1998, she discovered that the history of enslaved and Indigenous people had been largely erased from the property, including the “tot” system, which involved using wine as payment for workers—a practice that dates back centuries and continued on some Cape Town farms years after the fall of apartheid in 1994.
This erasure of her ancestors at the estate alarmed Campbell, prompting her to resign and pursue a degree in history. Armed with a postgraduate degree specialising in the history of slavery in the Cape,Campbell established Transcending History Tours in 2008.
Her academic research uncovered the inherently colonial nature of museums globally. She discovered that museums, universities, and private ownership, particularly in Europe, held human remains. The South African Museum, founded in 1825, housed human remains that were used in studies that sought to reinforce racist ideologies, such as seeking to prove that non-Europeans were racially inferior. Even though these studies have been halted, the remains continued to be housed by these institutions.
Campbell would prefer that the museums she tours be decentralised and relocated to the Cape Flats, a mainly non-white working-class area where she and most descendants of the Khoi and enslaved people live. She argues that this would make the museums more accessible to these communities, bringing them closer to their personal histories and demonstrating that their current difficult living conditions and marginalisation are not natural or inevitable but rather the result of a cruel past.
“At night, this place is filled with homeless people,” she says on a sunny morning in September as the tour leaves the castle.
A few steps away, past two lions perched on pillars at the castle’s entrance and a moat filled with fish and pondweed, a barefoot man is asleep on the sidewalk while a woman in a bra and camouflage pants scrounges for food in the shrubs. Like most of the homeless on the wealthy city’s streets, they are people of colour.
The tour passes the Grand Parade, the city’s public square and oldest urban open space, where the mud and wood predecessor to the existing castle stood. For many years, it served as a training ground for the colonial garrison before becoming a marketplace, surrounded by striking buildings, such as the Edwardian City Hall.
The parade’s most famous moment in modern South African history was as the setting of Nelson Mandela’s first public speech after his release from prison in 1990. Today, traders still gather here to sell everything from brightly coloured dashikis (colourful traditional garments) to kitchen electronics.
Krotoa, a Khoi woman, was the first Indigenous person in South Africa to have an official interracial marriage [File: Creative Commons]
A ‘trailblazer’
A few blocks away, the group stops to look at a plaque in St George’s Mall dedicated to one of Campbell’s heroes, Krotoa, a Khoi woman known as the progenitor of Cape Town’s mixed-race population after her marriage to a Danish surgeon.
The plaque dedicated to her in this busy modern commercial area feels misplaced and superficial to Campbell, who says it fails to celebrate the woman’s historical significance. Campbell also disapproves of the commonly used image of Krotoa on the plaque, claiming it to be a fabrication.
“The Krotoa that I know is a trailblazer.” She’s an interpreter. She’s a negotiator,” Campbell says.
The niece of the Khoi chief Autshumato, Krotoa joined the household of the first Dutch governor in the Cape, Jan van Riebeeck, at about the age of 12. As one of the first Indigenous interpreters, she became a mediator between the Dutch and the Khoi, playing a key role in the cattle trade, which was vital to the settlers’ survival at the Cape. She also negotiated in the conflict that arose between locals and the settlers.
Krotoa’s influence on Van Riebeeck’s government eventually led to her becoming the first Indigenous person to be baptised as a Christian in 1662 and adopting the name Eva. She married a Danish soldier, who was later appointed as the VOC surgeon, Pieter van Meerhof, in 1664, and the couple became the Cape’s first recorded interracial marriage.
In the end, though, Krotoa was a controversial figure: Khoi leaders criticised her for adopting colonial ways, and both they and Dutch officials accused her of being a spy for the other side.
“She went right into the kitchens of the Dutch,” Campbell says. “She used to tell them, ‘I know you. I know who you are. You can’t do anything for yourself. “Slaves are required to do everything for you.”
Campbell says Krotoa was instrumental as a mediator in the first Khoi-Dutch war, which lasted from 1659 to 1660 and was sparked by a campaign led by local Khoi leader Nommoa, or Doman, to reclaim the Cape Peninsula. The Dutch were victorious against the two Khoi groups, the Gorinhaiqua and the Gorachouqua, and expelled them from the peninsula to mountain outposts about 70 km (44 miles) away.
Asked what she would consider a fitting memorial for Krotoa, Campbell says, “Monuments are Eurocentric and hierarchic. I am not sure where her memorial should be located. I believe that her story and memory should be widely recognised and included in our education systems, both in schools and in other tertiary institutions. She and her Danish husband, van Meerhof, were sent to Robben Island. She also spent lots of time at the first castle, which is today’s Golden Acre [shopping mall], and her so-called plaque in Castle Street is a humiliation of the contributions she made in resisting the colony in favour of her people.”
A seal from the Registrar of Slaves and Deeds is seen on display at the Slave Lodge Museum in Cape Town [File: Mike Hutchings/Reuters]
Profits over people.
Around the corner from Krotoa’s memorial on Castle Street, Campbell stops at another VOC landmark—the cobbled walkway featuring the VOC’s bronze emblem, framed by an outline of the castle’s five ramparts.
“I want you to see how the VOC is embedded right in the fabric of the city,” she says, pointing to the insignia emblazoned in the street.
Then she directs her tour’s attention to nearby skyscrapers, which she views as symbols of wealth rooted in VOC exploitation.
As she speaks, workers on their lunch breaks walk by, while others sell beaded jewellery, paintings, leather handbags, and other wares in stalls dotted along the mall. Most of these workers live in overcrowded townships far outside the city, which is famed for its French Riviera-like lifestyle and has often been voted one of the world’s top tourist destinations.
“For me, it’s important to speak of that company, the first company that came here,” Campbell says, explaining the origin of capitalism in the region.
“It comes from there – profits before people. It comes from history. … The VOC continues to thrive in the city.
Restoring memory
The most haunting stop on the tour comes next: the Slave Lodge. It stands on the doorstep of the parliament precinct and the gardens that the VOC established to provide fresh produce to ships journeying between the East and the Netherlands.
From 1679 to 1811, the Slave Lodge housed thousands of enslaved people from as far away as Angola, Benin, Indonesia, India, and Madagascar. Converted into a museum, it contains artefacts, including shackles and the reconstructed hull of a slave ship, as well as a plinth recording the names of the enslaved people – names assigned to them by slave owners when they arrived at the Cape.
The Slave Lodge in Cape Town housed thousands of enslaved people from 1679 to 1811 [Creative Commons]
Campbell objects to the pristine exhibits, saying they are in stark contrast to the building’s dark history as a place of suffering and violence. One of the most horrific aspects of life there was the sexual violence inflicted by soldiers on women, including rape and coercion into sex work, often with payments made to the VOC.
This violent culture has had lasting effects, contributing to today’s high levels of sexual crimes and domestic violence on the Cape Flats, according to Campbell.
“The Slave Lodge does not get the reflection that it should get,” Campbell tells her tour. “It is very much veneered and made palatable to the visitors. It doesn’t bring the voices of the women in.”
The tour ends in the street behind the Slave Lodge, where Campbell shows the tourists a macabre landmark they might otherwise miss. On a traffic island in the middle of Spin Street is the spot where the city’s slave auctions were once held. A tree that marked the spot was chopped down in 1916. In its place, a slab of stone was installed in 1953, inscribed with a fading and barely legible message about its historical significance.
“It looks like a drain,” Campbell says, noting the sharp contrast between this neglected memorial and the bronze statue of Afrikaner leader Jan Smuts, oddly situated in front of the Slave Lodge, where the plaque bearing his name has been restored to a brilliant gleam.
In 2008, the city tried to rectify this oversight at the auction site, unveiling a commemorative art installation designed by prominent artists Gavin Younge and Wilma Cruise across the street. It consists of 11 granite blocks, roughly at knee height, inscribed with the assigned names of enslaved people and words that recall their tortured reality: “Suicide, infanticide, abscond, escape, flee.”
Activists have criticised the installation for being too cold and failing to convey the deep wounds left by nearly 200 years of slavery.
“People sit on it, but they don’t know what it is,” Campbell says. “They have the names of the slaves that were held at the Slave Lodge, but there’s no story. … It’s a monument that only serves the master, as it doesn’t bring out the people’s pain.
“I would have loved to see a high rise to bring out the memory of the people … something more visible.”
Historian Lucy Campbell, third from right, poses with American students at the end of her tour through historic sites that tell the story of slavery and colonialism in Cape Town [Gershwin Wanneburg/Al Jazeera]
‘This is twisted.’ Claudia reveals shocking new Traitors surprise
Spoiler warning: This article contains details of the first episode of the new series of The Traitors.
The Traitors has returned to TV screens with a major new twist – a secret fourth traitor whose identity has not even been revealed to viewers.
The secret traitor, who wears a red cloak instead of the usual green, has been given certain powers, such as deciding which players the other traitors are allowed to murder.
The ingenious new twist changes the dynamic of the civilian series and marks the most significant format change since the show’s launch in 2022.
It was revealed as the fourth regular series of the BBC show launched on Thursday, hot on the heels of the successful celebrity version, which attracted well over 15 million viewers.
The new crop of 22 players includes a former police detective and a crime novelist, as well as a mother and daughter keeping their connection a secret.
Two other players also recognised each other at the castle because they are mutual friends. Their link was not known to producers beforehand (but more on that in a moment).
What does the secret traitor do?
Winkleman selected the secret traitor at the round table, but viewers did not see who it was
Nobody, including the audience, knows the identity of the secret traitor – it is even kept from the other traitors
Host Claudia Winkleman selected the secret traitor by tapping them on the shoulder at the round table in the usual way, but viewers could not see who it was
The secret traitor has the power to control some aspects of the game, such as compiling a shortlist of three players the other traitors are allowed to murder
The secret traitor is the only contestant this year who knows every other player’s true status
Their identity will remain a secret until the other traitors “earn their power back”, Claudia explained, but it’s not yet clear how long that will take or how it will happen
This is the first time a fourth traitor has been assigned in the opening episode, and it’s fair to say the other traitors were not happy about somebody else holding some of the power.
“I do not require middle management,” said traitor Hugo, speaking for the nation as he delivered the best line of the episode.
Traitor Hugo said he was “so annoyed” about the twist, adding: “I do not require middle management.”
The twist will allow viewers, who often complain that the faithful are useless at rooting out traitors, to play along and see whether they can do any better.
“I’m so glad they’ve done this, because it was so infuriating when people were like, ‘How did you not know?'” former Celebrity Traitors contestant Lucy Beaumont said on Uncloaked.
During the launch of the series last month, Winkleman informed journalists that the other traitors were infuriated upon discovering their anonymous companion.
“But it’s really fantastic for the secret traitor,” she added, “having the time of their lives.”
The presenter reflected, “People who watch The Traitors endlessly ask, ‘How do the faithful not know?'” So I like the idea of, ‘OK, have a go.'”
But, some viewers might wonder, couldn’t it be quite a lonely experience for the secret traitor, without the camaraderie of working with the other three? “Oh, don’t worry,” Winkleman replied, “they have some fun.”
All 22 contestants survived the train journey this year, with no pre-castle twist
The format change came about partly because of something viewers suggested on social media during earlier seasons.
“In series one, people said, ‘Wouldn’t it be interesting if the viewers didn’t know who the traitors are?'” recalled Mike Cotton, creative director of production company Studio Lambert.
“And we don’t agree with that, actually. I think we think that knowing who the traitors are and knowing their duplicity is what makes it feel great.
“But we thought it would be interesting if you didn’t know who one of them was. I think it could change the conversation slightly for this season.”
Cotton added, “What’s really interesting is the traitors are used to having all of the power, and for once they don’t.
“There’s a shortlist they can murder from, but they don’t have free rein over who to kill, so what’s going to be really interesting to see is how they navigate that.”
Winkleman told journalists the secret traitor “has some fun” as the series progresses
After three seasons, producers clearly felt it was time to experiment with tweaks to the format – something networks often do to keep an established hit fresh.
Although an intriguing idea, viewers will have to wait and see what impact the secret traitor has on the rest of the series.
Previous format changes have not always worked out, such as the highly unpopular “Seer” twist last year, which effectively made it impossible for one particular player to win and removed the tension from the finale.
However, this twist signals a promising start for the series, encouraging people to share their theories over water coolers in offices across the nation.
Here are five other things we spotted in the opening episode:
1) Ross and Netty already know each other
Ross and Netty followed each other on social media, but producers did not know the nature of their connection
Perhaps the law of averages means this was bound to happen at some point, but, this season, two players already knew each other from having a mutual friend.
Although previous series have seen couples or family members deliberately cast together, Cotton said in this case it “was not intentional at all; we cast them as individuals.”
“We do long background checks on participants, and we found that they [Netty and Ross] follow each other on social media,” he said.
“So we knew there was a tenuous link, but we didn’t know whether they would recognise each other or how they would react.”
Many more contestants are expressing a desire to be traitors.
Winkleman selected this year’s traitors, including Rachel, through her usual series of fireside chats.
We aren’t keeping count, but we’re pretty sure more players than ever requested to be traitors this year during their fireside chats with Winkleman.
“A lot of them just say, ‘I think it would be more fun,'” Winkleman explained.
“And at some point, I’d really like to lean forward and say, ‘That’s actually not how you win, statistically.'”
She added, “You had to pick someone who wanted it. In the celebrity version, lots of them asked to be faithful. In this case I think it was one.”
Eventually, Winkleman plumped for Rachel, Hugo and Stephen – plus, of course, the fourth traitor, whose identity remains a secret.
“You never know whether you’ve picked right,” Winkleman concluded, “but I’d like to think there isn’t a wrong.”
3) The scale of the missions is getting bigger
The first mission saw the players set out on boats to retrieve floating coffins, dozens of which were spread out over a nearby loch.
The three teams collected the coffins in canoes and towed them ashore, each worth £1,000 for the prize fund.
However, to complete the task, the contestants had to place the coffins in the named graves of players, automatically shortlisting them for murder.
Being British, all three teams opted to choose players from a different team to avoid any awkward conversations, and a total of 10 players were eventually selected for the murder shortlist.
4) Roxy is Judy’s daughter
Judy (right) adopted Roxy when she was four – but the other players don’t yet know about their link
Two of this year’s players – Roxy and Judy – are also mother and daughter, with Judy explaining she adopted Roxy when she was four.
While this time the link was a deliberate piece of casting, the other players don’t know about their connection yet.
“One of the great things about the regular series is the contestants can come in with secrets, whether that’s about their lives or secret relationships,” Cotton said.
Asked how producers decide when to reveal any relationship to other players and viewers, he said, “We never know when we’re going to deploy it. When we’re going into filming, we go in and wait to see how it plays out.”
5) Claudia’s car soundtrack is impeccable
The episode opened with the presenter singing along to Fleetwood Mac’s Little Lies before skipping to The Fugees’ cover of Killing Me Softly.
Both songs are obviously bangers, and they were deliberately selected to align perfectly with the themes of the show.
For the fifth season, we are keeping our fingers crossed for Trick Me by Kelis, Walkin’ After Midnight by Madeleine Peyroux, No Body, No Crime by Taylor Swift and Kill Bill by SZA (note: would require a contestant called Bill).
And if any pop stars are reading, if one of you could write a song with the word “roundtable” in the title before 2027, we’d appreciate it.
The Traitors continues on Friday, 2 January, at 20:00 GMT on BBC One and iPlayer.
About 40 people were killed and 115 injured in a blaze at a New Year’s Eve party at an upmarket Swiss ski resort, with the disaster likened to scenes from a horror film.
Most of the victims of the fire in Crans-Montana are thought to be young people, but identification of the bodies is expected to take several days at least.
The fire broke out at roughly 1.30am local time in the Constellation Bar as people celebrated the turn of the year.
What we know about deadly Swiss fire Witnesses reported seeing people walking on top of others while trying to escape the blaze.
Emergency services were on the scene minutes later, but it was already too late to save dozens of people, thought to have been trapped in the basement.
Authorities warned that naming the victims or establishing a definitive death toll would take time due to the severity of the burns. Experts have been using dental and DNA records to try to identify the dead.
Switzerland‘s president, Guy Parmelin, described the deadly incident as “one of the worst tragedies our country has ever known,” and King Charles called it a “horrific disaster.”
The cause of the blaze remains unclear, but witnesses reported seeing sparklers or candles in bottles in the basement bar.
But Beatrice Pilloud, Valais Canton attorney general, said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire. Experts have not yet been able to go inside the charred wreckage of the bar.
Image: Map
‘Horror movie’ scenes of people with hair and clothes burned off
Witnesses described scenes of panic and confusion as youngsters scrambled to escape the blaze.
Samuel Rapp, who had been at a restaurant nearby, said he saw “many people at the entry trying to escape. The area was crowded, and people were walking over each other while trying to escape.
He saw many people “screaming and trying to escape,” as well as others “on the floor.”
Mr. Rapp told Sky News he saw “a lot of people” whose hair had been burned and others “without clothes.”
“We had three chances to get in,” said a teenager who experienced the Swiss fire horror.
Inside the bar shows a fire breaking out.
Video from inside the bar shows a fire breaking out and rapidly engulfing the ceiling, spreading panic through the partygoers, who rushed towards the stairs to escape.
Later footage from outside showed lines of ambulances queuing and helicopters arriving to airlift victims to nearby hospitals.
Leon Christe, who works in the resort, told Sky News he was one of the first to the scene and tried to help by administering first aid.
He said, “It was very chaotic and heartbreaking. Everywhere, there were young people who needed help; some had their clothes burnt off.
“It was very traumatic.”
Another witness speaking to BFMTV described people smashing windows to escape the blaze, some severely injured, and panicked parents rushing to the scene to find out what had happened to their children.
The young man said he saw about 20 people scrambling to get out of the smoke and flames and likened what he saw from across the street to scenes from a horror movie.
Image: Mourners gathered to lay flowers. Pic: AP
Vigil for victims, with many details unknown
On New Year’s Day people gathered to lay flowers and light candles at a memorial near the site.
Little information has yet emerged about the victims, and hospitals and emergency services are reeling from the accident.
Some are being treated in the local hospital, while others were taken further afield, including to the University Hospital of Lausanne, which treats severe burns, and to France.
France reported that the accident had injured at least three nationals and left eight missing.
Italian officials said 13 citizens had been injured, and another six are still unaccounted for, although details are still unfolding.
People in China will pay a 13% sales tax on contraceptives from 1 January, while childcare services will be exempt, as the world’s second-largest economy tries to boost birth rates.
An overhaul of the tax system announced late last year removes many exemptions that were in place since 1994, when China was still enforcing its decades-long one-child rule.
It also exempts marriage-related services and elderly care from value added tax (VAT) – part of a broader effort that includes extending parental leave and issuing cash handouts.
Faced with an ageing population and sluggish economy, Beijing has been trying hard to encourage more young Chinese people to marry and couples to have children.
China’s population has shrunk three years in a row.
Official figures indicate that China’s population has shrunk three years in a row, with just 9.54 million babies born in 2024. That is around half of the number of births recorded a decade ago, when China started to ease its rules on how many children people could have.
Still, the tax on contraceptives, including condoms, birth control pills and devices, has sparked concerns about unwanted pregnancies and HIV rates, as well as ridicule. Some say that expensive condoms won’t convince them to have kids.
As one retailer urged shoppers to stock up ahead of the price hike, a social media user joked, “I’ll buy a lifetime’s worth of condoms now.”
Another user noted that people can distinguish the cost of a condom from the cost of raising a child.
China is one of the most expensive countries in which to raise a child, according to a 2024 report by the YuWa Population Research Institute in Beijing. Costs are pushed up by school fees in a highly competitive academic environment and the challenge women have juggling work and parenting, the study said.
The economic slowdown, partly caused by a property crisis that has affected savings, has made families, especially young people, feel uncertain or less confident about their future.
“I have one child, and I don’t want any more,” says 36-year-old Daniel Luo, who lives in the eastern province of Henan.
“It’s like when subway fares increase. When they go up by a yuan or two, people who take the subway don’t change their habits. You still have to take the subway, right?”
He says he is not concerned by the price hike. A box of condoms might cost an extra five yuan, possibly 10 yuan, and at most 20 yuan. Over a year, that’s just a few hundred yuan, completely affordable.”
Getty Images
Young couples in China, like elsewhere, are having fewer or no children
But cost might be a problem for others, and that’s what worries Rosy Zhao, who lives in the city of Xi’an in central China.
She says making contraception, which is a necessity, more expensive could mean that students or those struggling financially “take a risk.”
That would be the policy’s “most dangerous potential outcome,”, she added.
Observers appear divided on the aim of the tax overhaul. The idea that a tax hike on condoms will impact birth rates is “overthinking it,”, says demographer Yi Fuxian from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
China’s VAT revenue stands at nearly $1tn (£742bn).
At nearly $1tn (£742bn), China’s VAT revenue made up close to 40% of the country’s tax collection last year.
The move to tax condoms is “symbolic” and reflects Beijing’s attempts to encourage people to lift China’s “strikingly low”fertility numbers, said Henrietta Levin from the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
What is also hampering efforts, she adds, is that a lot of the policies and subsidies will have to be implemented by indebted provincial governments – and it’s unclear if they can spare sufficient resources.
China’s approach to urging people to have children also risks backfiring if people feel the government is being “too intrusive” about what is a deeply personal choice, she said.
Recently there have been media reports that women in some provinces have received calls from local officials asking about their menstrual cycles and plans to have children. The local health bureau in Yunnan province stated that they require this data to identify expectant mothers.
But the situation has not helped the government’s image, Ms Levin said. “The [Communist] party can’t help but insert itself into every decision that it cares about. Consequently, it often becomes its own greatest adversary.
Getty Images
China is one of the priciest countries to raise a child, a study in 2024 found
Observers and women themselves say the country’s male-dominated leadership fails to understand the social changes underpinning these broader shifts, which are not exclusive to China.
Western nations and regional ones like South Korea and Japan have struggled to raise birth rates as their populations age.
Part of the reason is the burden of childcare, which disproportionately falls on women, research shows. But there are also other shifts, such as a decline in marriage and even dating.
China’s measures miss the real problem:
The way young people interact today increasingly avoids genuine human connections, Mr. Luo from Henan said.
He points to the rising sales of sex toys in China, which he believes is a sign that “people are just satisfying themselves” because “interacting with another person has become more of a burden.”
Being online is easier and more comforting, he says, as “the pressure is real.”.
“Young people today deal with way more stress from society than people did 20 years ago. Sure, materially they’re better off, but the expectations placed on them are much higher. Everyone’s just exhausted.”
These tiny beads could have been stitched onto clothing or attached to jewellery
Intriguing new discoveries in a mediaeval cemetery in Wales have brought archaeologists closer to solving the mystery surrounding the women buried there.
They’ve found what appears to be a small building and have unearthed domestic and decorative artefacts, including exquisite coloured glass beads.
So far 58 skeletons, dating to the 6th or 7th century, have been uncovered at the site. What’s unusual is that nearly all belonged to women.
The new finds add to growing evidence that the burial ground was part of an early female religious community.
Kevin Church/BBC News
The 1,500-year-old skeletons are intact and well preserved
For the last four years, archaeologists have been excavating the site in the grounds of Fonmon Castle, close to the end of the runway at Cardiff Airport.
The skeletons are buried in shallow graves cut into the limestone bedrock. While their bones and teeth show they lived hard lives, objects found amongst the graves suggest wealth and luxury.
The team have been scratching their heads trying to work out who these women were.
Now the latest dig has provided a major clue: the outline of what could possibly be a small building.
“It’s producing fragments of building stone, so it might be structural. We might be thinking of a small shrine or a chapel,” says Dr Andy Seaman, from Cardiff University, who is leading the dig.
Graves are clustered around the possible building, which is highlighted in pink
The potential building is located in the centre of the cemetery and graves are clustered around it. It seems that people wanted to be buried as close to this feature as possible.
So close, in fact, says Cardiff University archaeologist Tudur Davies, that some of these graves have several people in them.
“It’s a highly desired location for people to be buried in,” he says.
“Repeatedly, archaeologists have buried two, three, or four individuals in the same spot.” Putting bodies in the same place and moving those still there to one side appears to be more accepted.
Items include a copper brooch, a decorated bone pin and a comb carved from antlers.
The objects have been taken to Cardiff University’s lab. Conservator Clare Emerson is painstakingly removing the dirt on the dig from an ornate copper brooch.
“We’d have to do some more analysis, but it’s probably bronze,” she says. “Also we think it was possibly gilded, which would be a coating of gold over the top.”
The ends, she explains, were covered in green enamel.
“This would have been a very decorative brooch. I think it’s a very special find for the site.”
Alongside this piece of mediaeval bling, the team have also unearthed a pin made from bone with a detailed pattern and a comb intricately carved from antler.
And there are some exquisite, multicoloured glass beads. Measuring about 3mm across, each one is a miniature delight. They were possibly stitched onto clothing or attached to jewellery.
Kevin Church/BBC News
Fragments of glassware were found among the graves
But the domestic items found at the site tell us a lot too.
“We have a quern stone for grinding flour for bread. We’ve got pottery and glass for eating and drinking,” says Dr Andy Seaman.
“It’s clearly not just a place for the dead. There’s a living community here as well.”
He thinks that the community was enclosed, living right next door to the cemetery, separated from the rest of society.
Kevin Church/BBC News
Little is known about early religious communities from this area
The pieces of this mediaeval puzzle are starting to come together. But there are still some questions.
The remains of a few men have been found – who were they? And some children, too – were they related to any of the women?
And while most of the people at the cemetery were buried with excellent care, two women were tossed in a ditch – one with her hands and feet tied. What had they done to deserve that?
Kevin Church/BBC News
The excavations will continue at the site in 2026
The team is now trying to work out whether this could be an example of very early Christianity.
“It’s a period where the history is not yet written,” says Dr Seaman.
“We don’t really understand early church sites… how they functioned, what they looked like, or how they were organised.
“We have a good understanding of later periods, but this very formative period of history is not well understood.” So it’s a really exciting opportunity.”
Edward was one of the first children in England to receive the gene therapy Zolgensma through the NHS.
A five-year-old boy who received the world’s most expensive drug as a baby has made “incredible progress” and can walk independently, his mother said.
Edward, from Colchester, has spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), which means he lacks a protein vital for muscle development.
He was one of the first children in England to be given the gene therapy Zolgensma, which costs £1.79m for the one-off treatment, through the NHS in 2021.
Edward is full of life and a real character, according to his mum
About 65 babies are born with SMA in England each year. It causes muscle weakness and affects movement and breathing, meaning most babies do not live past the age of two without intervention.
playful boy who was “full of life”
Megan said Edward had gone from being a lethargic baby to a cheeky, playful boy who was “full of life” and “a real character.”
He might need to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life, but she added, “It does not matter, as long as he is happy. We are so proud of him.”
Contributed
Edward can now walk 20 to 30 steps independently
“Edward had to have a double hip replacement in October and he’s only just getting back on his feet, but in general he is doing so well.
“He is learning to swim; he can float on his own, which is challenging for children with SMA because they don’t have natural buoyancy.
“This summer, he jumped off a boat into the sea and he went on a jet ski. He’s a very sweet, loveable little guy.”
Edward has just started school, where he has made lots of friends, and he “does everything an ordinary five-year-old boy does.”
“We just didn’t think that was possible. We didn’t know what quality of life he would have,” she said.
Various doctors and medical professionals visited him whenever he was in hospital, even when they were not treating him, because they were amazed by his progress, she added.
Edward received the gene therapy four years ago and it has transformed his life.
The family moved to London so Edward can have physiotherapy up to five times a week.
Ms Willis gave up her job in event management to care full-time for Edward.
It was not certain he would receive the drug on the NHS, so she started a fundraising campaign and has used the money to pay for specialist physio and equipment, to which she credits his progress.
“We raised £170,000 over five years, but nearly all of that money has been spent.” She stated that the money has served a significant purpose.
“It has saved our family from worrying about money.” We’re fundraising again now because all of the progress he has made has been due to private care.”
Contributed
Edward has made huge progress due to the private physiotherapy the family has been able to fund via a fundraising page
Zolgensma is thought to be the most expensive drug in the world, though NHS England said it had negotiated an undisclosed discount on its £1.79m list price.
Edward, who was diagnosed at two months old, was receiving another drug called Spinraza, which involves regular spinal injections for life, compared to a one-off injection of Zolgensma.
Because it is such a new drug, long-term outcomes are not known, but Megan said she believed this generation of babies with SMA would be the first to reach adulthood.
Contributed
Edward started school this year and had made lots of friends, his mum said
Prof. James Palmer, medical director for specialised commissioning at NHS England, said, “It is a huge pleasure to see the remarkable benefits that this innovative gene therapy has provided for Edward since he was treated four years ago.”
“Edward is one of more than 150 children with SMA to benefit from this one-shot treatment, which has had a giant impact on their lives, and I’m optimistic that many more conditions like SMA will also become treatable over the coming years as medical advances continue at pace.”
Wide demonstrations erupted as Iran’s deteriorating economy sparked unrest in the Islamic republic’s rural provinces on Thursday, resulting in at least six deaths in the first clashes between security forces and protesters, officials said.
The deaths could mark the beginning of a tough response by Iran’s theocracy to the demonstrations, which have slowed in the capital Tehran but have spread elsewhere.
One death on Wednesday and five on Thursday occurred in three cities primarily home to Iran’s Lur ethnic group.
Protests in Iran became largest since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in 2022. Nationwide demonstrations began over police custody.
However, demonstrations remain localised and less intense than those surrounding the death of Amini, who was detained for not wearing a hijab or headscarf as authorities preferred.
The country’s leaders are still reeling after Israel launched a 12-day war against the country in June. The US also bombed Iranian nuclear sites during the war.
“The people of Iran want freedom. They have suffered for too long at the hands of the Ayatollahs,” US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said in a statement. post on X earlier this week.
He said, “We stand with Iranians in the streets of Tehran and across the country as they protest a fundamentalist regime that has given them nothing but economic recession and war.”
Protesters march in downtown Tehran, Iran, on December 29, 2025.
Fars News Agency via AP
The most intense violence occurred in Azna, a city in Iran’s Lorestan province, about 185 miles southwest of Tehran.
There, online videos reportedly showed objects on the street burning and gunshots echoing as people shouted, “Shameless! Shameless!”
The semi-official Fars news agency reported the deaths of three people.
Other media, including pro-reform outlets, cited Fars for reports, while state-run media did not fully acknowledge the violence there or elsewhere.
Uncertainty surrounded the lack of additional reporting on the unrest, but in 2022, journalists faced arrest for their reporting.
Online video captured protesters gathering on a street in Lordegan, a city in Iran’s Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, while gunshots echoed in the background.
The footage matches known features from Lordeghan, about 290 miles south of Tehran.
The Abdurrahman Boroumand Centre for Human Rights in Iran, based in Washington, confirmed the death of two protesters there. The report also featured a still image of an Iranian police officer, clad in body armour and wielding a gun.
In 2019, the area around Loredan saw widespread protests, which reportedly damaged government buildings.
This followed a report indicating that people in the area had contracted HIV from contaminated needles used at a local healthcare clinic.
A 21-year-old volunteer from the Basij force of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard reportedly died during a separate demonstration on Wednesday night.
The state-run IRNA news agency reported the guard member’s death but did not provide details.
Student News Network, an Iranian news agency considered close to the Basij, directly blamed protesters for the death of the Guard member, citing comments by Saeed Pourali, the deputy governor of Lorestan province.
“The Guard member was martyred at the hands of rioters during protests in this city to protect public order,” he reportedly said. He reported that 13 other Basij members and police officers sustained injuries.
“The protests that have taken place are due to economic pressures, inflation, and currency fluctuations, and they are an expression of livelihood concerns,” Pourali said. “
The voices of citizens must be heard carefully and tactfully, but people must not be pressured into their demands by profit-seeking individuals.”
The protest took place in the city of Kouhdasht, 250 miles southwest of Tehran. Local prosecutor Kazem Nazari said 20 people had been arrested following the protests and peace had returned to the city, the judiciary’s Mizan news agency reported.
Iran’s civilian government, led by reformist President Massoud Pezeshkian, has been trying to signal that it is willing to negotiate with protesters.
However, Pezeshkian admitted he could not do much, as Iran’s rial currency has depreciated sharply, with $1 now worth about 1.4 million rials.
Meanwhile, state television separately reported the arrest of seven people, including five it said were monarchists and two others it said were linked to European-based groups.
State TV also said that in another operation, security forces seized 100 smuggled pistols, without elaborating.
Iran’s theocracy declared a public holiday across much of the country on Wednesday to draw people out of the capital for the long weekend, citing cold weather.
The era of complete anonymity in cryptocurrency transactions is rapidly closing. Governments around the world are implementing stringent new regulations, forcing crypto users to share account details with tax officials. The global shift aims to close the “tax gap” by reporting and taxing digital asset transactions like any other investment.
Why This is Happening Now
For years, cryptocurrency markets operated with a level of privacy that traditional finance does not allow. This led to concerns about tax evasion, money laundering, and a lack of investor protection. In response, major economies have introduced new reporting frameworks, fundamentally changing the relationship between crypto holders and tax authorities.
The most significant development is the implementation of the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). This global standard, along with existing rules like the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), mandates that crypto exchanges and other Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) automatically collect and report client information to tax authorities.
Why This is Happening Now
For years, cryptocurrency markets operated with a level of privacy that traditional finance does not allow. This led to concerns about tax evasion, money laundering, and a lack of investor protection. In response, major economies have introduced new reporting frameworks, fundamentally changing the relationship between crypto holders and tax authorities.
The most significant development is the implementation of the Cryptoasset Reporting Framework (CARF) by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). This global standard, along with existing rules like the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), mandates that crypto exchanges and other Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) automatically collect and report client information to tax authorities.
What Information Must Be Shared?
Under these new rules, the onus is primarily on the crypto service providers, but the data is about their users. The details that crypto users are forced to share account details with tax officials through their exchanges include:
Personal Identification: Name, address, date of birth, and taxpayer identification number.
Account Information: Wallet addresses and account numbers associated with the exchange.
Financial Activity: Gross proceeds from crypto sales or exchanges, and in many cases, the fair market value of holdings at year-end.
This information is then automatically exchanged between jurisdictions, meaning your local tax agency could receive data from an exchange based overseas.
The Implications for Crypto Investors
Increased Tax Compliance: Tax authorities now have the data to cross-check the information you report on your tax returns. Underreporting income from crypto trading, staking, or mining is becoming much riskier.
Global Reach: These are international standards. Even if you use a foreign-based exchange, your data is likely to be shared with your home country’s revenue service.
No More “Flying Under the Radar”: The common misconception that crypto profits are invisible to tax authorities is now obsolete.
Steps Every Crypto User Should Take
Understand Your Tax Obligations: Cryptocurrency is typically treated as property (like stocks) for tax purposes. Selling, trading, or spending it can trigger a taxable capital gain or loss.
Keep Impeccable Records: Maintain detailed records of all your transactions, including dates, amounts, values in your local currency at the time of the transaction, and the purpose (buy, sell, trade, etc.).
Report Accurately: Use your records to accurately report all taxable events on your annual tax return. Consider using crypto tax software to aggregate data from different wallets and exchanges.
Seek Professional Advice: If you have a complex trading history or are unsure of the rules, consult a tax professional who specialises in cryptocurrency.
The Bottom Line
The regulatory landscape has fundamentally changed. Crypto users are forced to share account details with tax officials, not as a one-off measure, but as a permanent feature of the global financial system. While this may feel intrusive to proponents of crypto’s decentralised ethos, it represents a major step towards the formal integration of digital assets into a regulated economy.
Proactivity is key. By understanding the rules, maintaining clean records, and reporting accurately, you can navigate this new era of crypto transparency and avoid significant penalties.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or tax advice. Please consult a qualified professional for guidance specific to your situation. specific to your situation.
What Information Must Be Shared?
Under these new rules, the onus is primarily on the crypto service providers, but the data is about their users. Crypto users are required to share their account details with tax officials through their exchanges, which include the following information:
Personal Identification: Name, address, date of birth, and taxpayer identification number.
Account Information: Wallet addresses and account numbers associated with the exchange.
Financial Activity: Gross proceeds from crypto sales or exchanges, and often, the fair market value of holdings at year-end.
This information is then automatically exchanged between jurisdictions, meaning your local tax agency could receive data from an exchange based overseas.
The Implications for Crypto Investors
Increased Tax Compliance: Tax authorities now have the data to cross-check the information you report on your tax returns. Underreporting income from crypto trading, staking, or mining is becoming much riskier.
Global Reach: These are international standards. Your home country’s revenue service is likely to share your data, even if you use a foreign-based exchange.
No More “Flying Under the Radar”: The common misconception that crypto profits are invisible to tax authorities is now obsolete.
Steps Every Crypto User Should Take
Understand Your Tax Obligations: Cryptocurrency is typically treated as property (like stocks) for tax purposes. Selling, trading, or spending it can trigger a taxable capital gain or loss.
Keep Impeccable Records: Maintain detailed records of all your transactions, including dates, amounts, values in your local currency at the time of the transaction, and the purpose (buy, sell, trade, etc.).
Report Accurately: Use your records to precisely report all taxable events on your annual tax return. Consider using crypto tax software to aggregate data from different wallets and exchanges.
Seek Professional Advice: If you have a complex trading history or are unsure of the rules, consult a tax professional who specialises in cryptocurrency.
The Bottom Line
The regulatory landscape has fundamentally changed. Crypto users are forced to share account details with tax officials, not as a one-off measure, but as a permanent feature of the global financial system. While this may feel intrusive to proponents of crypto’s decentralised ethos, it represents a major step towards the formal integration of digital assets into a regulated economy.
Proactivity is key. By understanding the rules, maintaining clean records, and reporting accurately, you can navigate this new era of crypto transparency and avoid significant penalties.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or tax advice. Please consult a qualified professional for guidance specific to your situation.
